Campfire
by Applesauce.Flavored.Resisty
Summary: Dib takes Zim on a camping trip one night. As he watches the smoke and the stars, he contemplates everything but his only companion. After a slight surprise on Zim's part, Dib realizes thoughts don't always have to be about life, space, and campfire.


_**Campfire**_

Dib smiled. He loved the smell of the crackling fire and watching the smoke spiraling upwards only to dissolve into oblivion. He loved how after a good long time of sitting in front of said fire, the smell of smoke would linger on his clothes; the smell of nature and, sometimes, bacon. Closing his eyes, he listened to the cicadas chirping in the trees, and crickets in the grass. Zim, who had came along to 'enjoy nature' like Dib had stated, clung tightly to said human's arm, magenta eyes darting back and forth.

Dib sighed and opened his eyes, looking at the alien curiously. "What is it now, Zim?" Dib questioned. His voice seemed hoarse from being silent for over two hours. Zim tugged at the sleeve of Dib's trench-coat and said nothing. Dib rolled his eyes. "They're just bugs. They can't do anything."

"They are communicating… Telling each other how DELICIOUS I am…"

Dib chuckled. "Yeah, right… They're singing, Zim. Singing." He continued to chuckle, much to Zim's displeasure. The alien poked Dib in the head with one gloved finger, sticking his serpentine tongue out of his mouth. "Silence, Dib-thing; even though you are far less superior than ZIM, you cannot speak bug!"

Dib rolled his eyes and fell back in the grass, arms laid out above his head as if he was reaching for something. He stared up at the stars, twinkling innocently in the inky black sky above. The only obstruction of the dazzling view was the smoke that continued to float into the sky, dissolving into nothing only to be replaced by more dissolving smoke; a repeating process that only stopped when the fire was gone. Zim laid next to Dib and cuddled up next to him, purring slightly. "Tell me, Dib-human… what are you thinking?" he asked, looking up at the stars himself.

Dib took his time to answer, pondering what exactly he was thinking himself. Life was one of them; a cycle that had no end, like a circle or the water cycle. The stars and planets beyond Earth's solar system; he couldn't forget that one. Gold and sparkling galaxies swirling about in the vast emptiness of space, dancing with the stars in a brilliant display of something much bigger –or smaller- than the Milky Way, and possibly more brilliant. Nebulas, their gasses curling and winding into seemingly impossible shapes (How, some wonder, can there be 'clouds' in outer space?), forming beautiful and sometimes deadly things both far and near in sudden colorful bursts of reds and blues.

He didn't answer for a while, even after he found what he wanted to say. Zim prodded his arm impatiently, his dark pink eyes regarding him carefully. "Dib, tell Zim what you are so quiet about!"

Dib smiled and moved one arm so that he could pet Zim's antennae. Zim purred; he couldn't resist the good feeling the stroking gave him. He cuddled closer to Dib and whispered into his ear, warm breath tickling the pale skin, "Tell Zim."

"I'm just thinking about… the stars. How they could be hiding something so much bigger than we could ever think of; something that we might not be ready for-"

He was cut off by Zim's lips pressing against his. After a few seconds, Zim pulled away and wiped the saliva off of his mouth, wincing slightly. "You talk too much, human." He said, though he was grinning lightly. Dib sat up and pulled Zim onto his lap, holding the alien close. A light breeze blew by, pushing the smoke into a different course through the still, late fall air. Zim shivered slightly, and Dib wrapped him up in his coat, covering the two of them up under the black fabric.

Zim was silent for a second, thinking of things himself. Dib rested his chin on Zim's shoulder, smiling to himself. "What are _you_ thinking of?"

Zim smiled and moved his head so that he could kiss Dib gently on the cheek. "You, Dib… You." He replied softly, pressing his cheek against Dib's lovingly.

Later that night, after Zim had finally fallen asleep (contrary to Dib's beliefs, Irkens do sleep, but never really had the need to.), Dib sat in the grass, staring up at the stars. Wisps of smoke curled into the sky from the dying fire, disappearing at a lower level than the thicker clouds that had come before them. His golden eyes half closed, Dib thought. He thought of space, of life, of the camping trip… But then his thoughts turned to Zim. With a small smile, he put out the rest of the fire and padded over to the tent, unzipping the flap quietly. He climbed in and zipped the tent back up, then silently made his way over to the sleeping bundle that was Zim.

"I was thinking of you, too, Zim." He said quietly, laying down next to the small Irken form. "I was thinking of you, too."

-----------

A/N:

Woo! The end stinks! But that's okay; you love it anyways! Right? RIGHT?! xDD

Okay, so it didn't come out as I suspected, but that's fine. I think I did pretty well on it. Reviews/comments? I'll write another ZaDR for you all……

_[I do not, and will never, own Invader Zim. That AMAZING pleasure belongs to Jhonen Vasquez, and if you think I'm him, then you're crazy._


End file.
